A child in Wonderland
by Echo DeMon
Summary: Alice is sick for almost a full month with the oddest symptoms. Finally she decides to figure out what it is. Follow her adventures of Pregnancy and raising a child in Wonderland
1. Sickness

**A/N: It has been literal years and my dudes, I am so damn sorry. Truth is, I hit quite a few hard spots in my life. Haven't exactly been having the best run of things and I pretty much completely forgot about this place. To my followers, if you're still out there then thank you. And again I'm sorry. Also, why the hell did you follow me before? That's crazy. I was a crappy writer. I mean, still am but I have improved DRASTICALLY.**

Alice heaves over her toilet in Hatter Mansion, feeling sick out of her mind while she clutches at the porcelain seat with both hands, her long hair held back by the ribbon that usually sat atop her head instead. It had been a while since she had felt this sick but lately the symptoms never seemed to stop. Her head hurt, she was vomiting all the time, everything smelt and tasted different, and last but not least, her nipples were on fire. It was, not to put it lightly, a literal hell. Everyone had assumed the flu but she herself wasn't completely certain. The flu didn't last almost a whole month.

She wipes her mouth with the back of her wrist after she finishes, lips pursed in thought. A thought she had been mulling over for the past week or so. She stands up on shaky legs, going to the sink and splashing her face with a little cold water. She sighs, drying her hands then getting changed out of her nightgown into her black assembly gown, slipping on her knee high black socks and then buckling on her shoes. She grabs her favorite wicker shopping basket on the way out, going to go shopping. She had been stuck in this room for far too long and she was going stir crazy from it.

"Onee-San!" The twins yell as they see her, rushing over with their large axes in hand and scooting to a stop in front of her, hugging her gently instead of their usual tightness, not wanting to get puked on. Again.

"You shouldn't be up, Onee-San!" Dee exclaims and Dum nods his agreement, both of them turning her around and attempting to drag her from the gates back into the mansion.

"Hold on a minute! I was just going to go shopping! I need to get out of this house before I go completely insane!" She protests and wiggles out of their grasp, going to walk back to the gates stubbornly. "Besides, I feel much better than before! I'm not so dizzy and i haven't been puking as much!"

"Than at least take us with you!" Dum says, both boys quick to run after her and quickly catching up, walking on either of her sides, pinching her im between them and making her blush slightly. It was always weird to have people so close, even if it had been going on for quite a while now.

"No!" She protests and gives them each a scolding look, trying not to break under their adorable puppy dog pouts. Her hand twitches, wanting to just pinch their cheeks and engulf them in a great big hug. They were too cute for anyone's good but their own. Yet, she persists with her original statement through sheer willpower. "You're still on gate duty, aren't you? Elliot will be mad if you slack off and Blood will dock your pay again!" She threatens and they finally show some hesitation, not wanting to lose any money right now. They were saving up for a really cool grenade launcher!

"Okay." They both mumble, biting their lips worriedly. "But if Onee-San doesn't come home in two time periods then we'll come looking for you! No matter what Chickie-Rabbit or Boss say!" Dum says confidently and Dee nods in agreement, the same sparkle shining in his eyes as well.

She nods, fully able to accept that reasoning. It was a decent amount of time and she would probably be back before that anyway. "No sooner than that though." She tells them and then kisses both of their foreheads before walking off.

The walk is almost completely silent, filled with nothing but the small chirps and huffs of animals hiding in the lush green forest surrounding the paths. It was peaceful, and a nice break from the hectic role holders that so often swamped her with their usual antics. Not that she minded them any but sometimes they could be a little much for one person to handle.

She nearly jumps out of her skin as a little grey squirrel jumps into her path with a nut in it's mouth, startling her out of her thoughts and then scurrying away just as quickly as it had come, it's lush fluffy tail swaying behind it as it runs up another tree on the other side of the path.

She smiles, Gray would have liked to see that. It was a rather cute squirrel, and he might have even tried to pet it or take it home to the tower with him. She giggles at the mere thought, imagining the tiny creature crawling all over him.

Soon after that the sounds of the little town enter her ears, far away from the other towns and neering the lining of the woods. It was nice and secluded, a place she would visit if she ever needed a break from everyone. It had a rather homey atmosphere too, all the quaint shops being one of a kind and family run. The people were kind and it was less riddled with violence then the other cities of Wonderland. It's her safe place, her little slice of heaven.

Alice swiftly enters a small shop known to carry many things, smiling at the faceless named Elizabeth behind the counter. She was the owner of the shop and was rather spiffy and active for a woman in her late 50's. She had long grey hair with the occasional streak of her once natural black held up in a neat bun, donning a suit that gave her the impression of a librarian or a business woman instead of a little shop keeper.

"My, my! It's so good to see you again, Alice. It's been too long. I was starting to get worried." She says and cups the side of her face, her lips tilting downward with a concerned frown and the crow's feet at the edges of her not eyes crinkling up.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I've been a little sick lately." Alice says and leans against the counter, a happy smile lighting up her face. "I actually came because I have a little favour to ask of you." She says and hands over a bar of Elizabeth's favorite cherry chocolate, immediately drawing a suspicious look from the older woman.

"So it's something that needs to be kept secret then?" She asks to confirm and places one hand on her hip, the other tapping at her lip in thought. "You didn't need to bribe me, you know. All you need to do is ask, Alice. You're my friend, not just some random commoner." She says and takes the bar.

"I know. But this is really big. And I do mean REALLY." She says and then takes a deep breath. "I need a pregnancy test."


	2. Testing

Alice was always enamoured with how strange Wonderland was and how they seemed to have a giant mixing bowl of modern time, olden times, and future times. Their guns, for instance, were evolved far beyond those of her time. They shot faster, had more bullets, where lighter. But on that same note, they had no communication devices and still relied on messengers while they also had conveniences such as trains in Diamond and electronic coffee makers in every cafe. Truly, it was all jumbled and Alice was never sure what the right thing to ask for was in any situation.

Pregnancy tests where one of those many things she wasn't sure of, but there was always a way to test for it, even in the oldest times in her original world. For instance, a pregnant woman could pee on a south african clawed frog and it would either ejaculate or lay eggs within 10 to 12 hours depending on the gender of said frog. Her world had simpler things like blood tests at hospitals, or little sticks that you could take home and pee on. She was almost positive Wonderland doctors didn't have such a thing for her to use and even if they did, she did not want anyone to know, especially with how rumours spread so easily here. So she went to Elizabeth. Elizabeth was good at keeping secrets for anyone who walked through the doors of her shop.

She was not expecting the woman to pull out a knife and a mason jar full of what looked like Gray's cooking. Moving, bubbling, squirming black goo that was trying to climb the walls of its container in order to get out and flee. To be quite frank, it was quite terrifying to look upon.

"Whaaaaaaaaat is that?" She asks critically and backs always slowly, having a faint thought about running away from the slime. If it was even half as deadly as Gray's cooking could be then she wanted to be as far away from it as possible before it had the chance to kill her.

Elizabeth notices her movements and gives her a scalding look of disappointment which so very clearly said that she was upset that Alice thought she would ever get seriously hurt under her care. Now she feels quite bad about her overreaction and steps forward again with an apologetic look in her eyes that causes the older woman's face to loosen up and a sigh to drift out from between her full painted red lips.

"It is called Afterimage sludge. It is something that is left behind when Afterimages reform with their clocks again. The clockmaster usually gives it to the doctor's for this express purpose but I keep some on hand in case a customer is someone important like a noble or a roleholder's affair. One of the king's many lovers came here once." Elizabeth shrugs and gently takes a hold of Alice's hand.

"And was she? Pregnant, I mean." Alice asks slowly, not entirely sure that she actually wanted to know the answer. It was more of a pathetic attempt to distract herself from what the results of the test might be. On one hand, she was excited. She had always wanted to be a mother, albeit she had always envisioned them as being planned. On the other, she was so nervous. It was ingrained in her from a young age that women shouldn't have relations with men that they weren't married to and if she where to have this child then she wouldn't know who the father was until it was born. Such a thing would have her exiled by friends and family alike in her old home.

Elizabeth gives a thinly veiled smile and shakes her head at the question, giving Alice's hand a comforting squeeze as if she was like Nightmare who could read her thoughts and knew exactly what was going on in the young lady's mind. "If I told you then I wouldn't exactly be a good secret keeper now, would I?" She chuckles and then turns serious. "This will hurt for a moment but then I'll bandage it for you." She says and makes a thin slice across the girl's wrist and puts a small rubber ball in her hand. "Perfect, now squeeze that to keep the blood flowing. If you're pregnant then the sludge will move away from your blood. If you're not then the sludge will remain the same." Elizabeth explains and starts to slowly undo the cap of the mason jar, leading her bleeding wrist over top the jar so that the red liquid could drip onto the sludge. "Afterimages detest living blood, especially the blood of a new being. It's life force is too strong."

At first, nothing at all happened and Alice let out a sigh that was of an emotion she couldn't identify just yet. It could've been relief but it also could have been disappointment. Elizabeth was just about to pull her hand away when all of a sudden the sludge shot up towards her hand with a loud shriek that sounded like nails on a chalkboard, hurting her ears immensely.

Alice quickly jumped away but tripped over her heels at the last second, falling flat onto her back and hitting her head on a shelf behind her as the sludge made another jump at her. Or, to be more accurate, it jumped towards her stomach. At the last second, Elizabeth was able to slam the jar and lid over it mid air before it could reach her, sealing it again despite it's loud noises and banging at the glass.

"What does that mean?" She asks quickly as Elizabeth shakily puts the jar away in a trunk beneath the counter just out of sight, locking it up with a strange looking key. The older woman was pale and didn't even acknowledge Alice's question at all so she asked again, becoming panicked and desperate. "Elizabeth, what does that mean?!" She screams and that seems to snap her out of her trance like state, a look of pity molding onto her face.

"It means-" She took a deep breath to compose herself and stood up straighter, looking Alice in the eyes. "Alice, it means your child is dying."

Alice stands in silence for a few moments, her breath caught in her throat, her heart stopping it's rhythmic beating for a moment. A single tear wells up and slides out of her duct, slipping down her cheek to fall off her chin and burrow into the crevice of her breasts which were tense with the heaviness of her heart. "What?"


	3. The Truth

Alice walked back to Hatter mansion in silence, shock filling her veins.

She was pregnant, and her baby was dying.

Alice went into the bathhouse instead of seeking out one of her lovers. She stripped herself, sliding into the new water that had just been filled a few moments ago after the tiles were scrubbed clean by the servants of the mansion.

When she was shoulder deep into the water, she put her head into her hands and wept.

* * *

Alice liked to pride herself on being independent. She went to college, worked, and paid for most things by herself.

She wanted to get through this independently as well. She didn't want to burden the others with these feelings, even though she knew, realistically, that she felt more than they did.

She managed to avoid it for three months before she finally broke down. Try as she might, she hadn't been able to hold it all back and she had been acting more sullen as time went on.

Her favorite foods no longer had taste, music no longer made her want to dance, colors seem to fade into shades of gray.

It was at one of Vivaldi's tea parties that she lost her grip on her emotions and the truth came out.

It had started sweet, with Vivaldi trying to get her to eat something, stating that she was getting far too thin, which was true.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Boris struggling to get over one of the hedges, cradling something in his arms that she couldn't see.

When the Cheshire cat finally managed to wiggle over the leafy green mass, he bounded over to her with the jubilant smile stuck to his face.

In his hands was a tiny little kitten. It wiggled and stretched in his palms before seeming to notice her, it's blue eyes curious and innocent.

And then it opened its mouth to give a tiny little cry that almost sounded like a human baby's.

Alice couldn't do it anymore, falling to her knees and starting to wail her grief to the world, her short body shaking like a leaf caught in the midst of a storm, thunder booming around it and lighting up the earth.

Distantly, she could hear Peter start yelling at Boris for upsetting her. If she was in a better headspace, she'd stop them.

It was Vivaldi who reached out to hold her cheeks, smearing the tears with her thumbs.

"What is upsetting you, Precious?" Vivaldi asks softly.

Alice's walls fell, and she told them everything.


End file.
